Bay Area earthquakes unlikely to trigger deadly tsunamis, experts say

Californians may wonder if an earthquake hits Northern California, would it trigger a tsunami of a similar magnitude to the one seen in Japan?

The answer, according to Paul Segall, professor of geophysics at Stanford University, is probably not in the Bay Area.

The 810-mile San Andreas fault, which runs through several coastal counties including San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Francisco, would not cause large vertical motions in the event of an earthquake. Vertical motions are necessary to displace large amounts of water, Segall explained. Continue Reading >>